One of the most innovative tools Plex-Earth has to offer is the ability to create a chronological visualization of your imagery with the use of the Create Timeline command. This way, you can track the changes being made in the area of your interest or observe the progress of your project over time.
The Create Timeline command also allows users to directly view very up-to-date satellite imagery with the help of our premium providers, Airbus and Maxar.
To learn more about this feature's capabilities, just follow the tutorial below.
Step 1. Create Timeline Command
Step 2. Specify Geographic Location or Cover Area in Drawing
Step 1. Create Timeline Command
To create a Timeline, visit the Contextual Data panel of Plex-Earth, go to the "Create Imagery" drop-down menu, and select the "Create Timeline" command, as shown in the screenshot below:
Step 2. Specify Geographic Location or Cover Area in Drawing
You are then prompted to choose your area of interest by entering your geographic coordinates: "Enter or paste the geographic coordinates (Latitude, Longitude)" or "Paste from Clipboard".
Alternatively, you can use one of the 3 methods shown in the picture below:
1. From Google Earth: You can choose a Google Earth placemark/polygon/path to define your project’s location. Go to Google Earth, right-click on the placemark/polygon/path, and copy it.
Then go back to your drawing, click “From Google Earth” and then “Accept”.
After defining your area via the “From Google Earth” option, go to the Collection Manager at the left of your screen to confirm the area. If you want to continue, click on “Next: Select Imagery Date”. Alternatively, you can choose to specify another area or completely close this command.
If you want to continue, click on “Yes, Create a Corridor!”.
2. By Point: You can choose an area by selecting a single point in your drawing. Go to your drawing and click on your preferred point.
After defining your area via the “By Point” option, go to the Collection Manager at the left of your screen to confirm the area. If you want to continue, click on “Next: Select Imagery Date”, as mentioned above. Alternatively, you can choose to specify another area or completely close this command.
3. By rectangle: You can choose an area by drawing a rectangle in your drawing. Go to your drawing, and by clicking this option, you will be prompted to draw your first and second corners to create your preferred rectangle.
After defining your area via the “By Rectangle” option, go to the Collection Manager at the left of your screen to confirm the area. If you want to continue, click on “Next: Select Imagery Date”, as mentioned above. Alternatively, you can choose to specify another area or completely close this command.
Step 3. Select Imagery Date
After clicking on "Next: Select Imagery Date", the following window appears. Click on your preferred dataset and then click "Select".
Then, name the Timeline and click "Accept", as shown below.
After this procedure, the first image of your Timeline is imported.
Step 4. Add Date
To add another date to your Timeline, go to the Site Editor at the left of your screen and click on "Add Date". This way, you will be able to choose additional dates for your Timeline.
If you want to create mosaics from Airbus and Maxar, check out the Site Area tutorial here.
Conclusion
This functionality of Plex-Earth provides you with the most recent, as well as historical images, so you can have a wide spectrum of imagery to choose from.
We, the Plex-Earth team, know well that time is a valuable thing, especially regarding the progress monitoring of your project, as well as the amount of time you consume in order to achieve your goals. That's why we have come up with the easiest and quickest solutions.
We hope that you have found this tutorial "Create Timeline: Import Historical Imagery and Monitor the Progress of a Project", helpful. Feel free to contact us at support@plexscape.com for any questions you may still have.
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Compatibility includes:
AutoCAD Version: 2025, 2024 , 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020
Civil 3D® Version: 2025, 2024 , 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020
AutoCAD Architecture Version: 2025, 2024 , 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020
BricsCAD Pro: V25, V24 , V23 , V22 , V21